Valves are used in myriad systems and environments, and may be operated in numerous and varied ways. Some valves are manually operated, others are operated via electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or various other types of actuators. In one particular implementation, a valve is operated via a pneumatic actuator that is configured to open the valve upon receipt of pressurized air, and close the valve when the pressurized air is no longer supplied.
It is additionally desirable that valves, such as the one described above, include some means of sensing valve position. Presently, position sensing devices that are used to sense the position of fluid-actuated valves are relatively expensive, exhibit relatively low reliability, and for mechanical-type devices are limited to the number of cycles they can endure in a useful life. Moreover, adding a position sensing device to a valve often requires increased weight and space.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a position sensing device for a fluid-actuated valve that is relatively inexpensive, exhibits relatively high reliability, is non-mechanical, and/or is does not increase (or significantly increase) weight and space when added to a valve. The present invention addresses at least these needs.